After this seemingly never-ending winter, in northwestern Pennsylvania we are so ready for spring, according to the calendar, it arrived two weeks ago. Though, I am still driving with snow tires on my van. There were several days last week I needed them! At least most of the snow is melted, we only have a few patches of dirty snow- where the snow plow had it piled mega high. We will have our traditional Easter egg hunt for grandchildren inside this year, it will be too cold and muddy outside for their Easter clothes. Though most of our grandchildren have outgrown the tradition of Easter egg hunts, now we have the great grandchildren. And so the cycle of life continues.

I’ve been reading lots of good books. My favorite is Anne Tyler’s The Blue Thread. It started out a bit slow as most of her books do, but that’s how she skillfully builds her plots and develops her characters. It proved to be another unforgettable Tyler novel and I loved it. She has long been one of my most favorite authors.

I also read a wonderful little novel, The Same Sky by Amanda Eyre Ward. This novel forever changed my attitude about illegal immigration in the southwest. Another unforgettable story. This was my first Ward novel and I am sure it will not be my last.

I have had two reviews published on Story Circle Book Reviews: On March 15, 2015 The Secrets of Midwives by Sally Hepworth http://www.storycirclebookreviews.org/reviews/secretofmidwives.shtml. On April 2, 2015 War Creek by Susan Marsh http://www.storycirclebookreviews.org/reviews/warcreek.shtml. Both were excellent and I encourage you to click these links to read the reviews, as well as the many other reviews available on Story Circle Book Reviews. *Story Circle is unique in that it exclusively features women reviewing women authors.

I have two book reviews included in a new literary magazine, The Writers Monthly Review:Two in the March issue, a novel by David Poyer, As the Wolf Loves Winter; and a poetry book by Carol Smallwood, “Divining the Prime Meridian.” Three reprinted book reviews are in the April issue: The Day the Whistle Blew by Marilynn Nesbitt Wood, Juliet’s Nurse by Lois Leveen, as well as Unmentionables by Laurie Lownenstein. *Interestingly Lowenstein will be in our area next Tuesday, April 7th. She will be at the Friends Memorial Library in Kane at 11:30 a.m. And at 7 p.m. she will be at the Olean Public Library in Olean, NY.

Also a reprint of The Search for Anne Perry by Joanne Drayton will be published in the May1, 2015 edition of Writer Advice.

ALL of the above mentioned books are excellent reads. My mother, always a veracious reader, told me as she lay dying, “Life is too short for bad books.” And my mother never lied to me…well except maybe about Santa and the tooth fairy!

We’ve been seeing fewer movies since we’ve come home from vacation. Mainly because there haven’t been many that we were interested in seeing. Our books are better company!